I've Been to the Mountaintop

"I've Been to the Mountaintop" is the popular name of the final speech delivered by Martin Luther King Jr.[1][2][3] King spoke on April 3, 1968,[4] at the Mason Temple (Church of God in Christ Headquarters) in Memphis, Tennessee.

King calls for unity, economic actions, boycotts, and nonviolent protest, while challenging the United States to live up to its ideals.

The issue is the refusal of Memphis to be fair and honest in its dealings with its public servants, who happen to be sanitation workers.

King argued that peaceful demonstrations were the best course of action, the only way to guarantee that their demands would be heard and answered.

[1]Regarding economic boycotts, King advocated boycotting white goods as a means of nonviolent protest.

He said that the individual Negro is poor but together they are an economic powerhouse, and they should use this power to stop support for racist groups and instead empower black businesses.

King named several businesses as targets for the boycott: Go out and tell your neighbors not to buy Coca-Cola in Memphis.

[1]Toward the end of the speech, King referred to threats against his life and used language that prophetically foreshadowed his impending death, but reaffirmed his audience that he was not afraid to die for what he believed in: Well, I don't know what will happen now.

"Shortly after, Moses dies, and his successor Joshua leads them into the Promised Land.